Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2010

I am my uncle's namesake.  I was named after him a couple years after
he died in the South Pacific in World War II.
But what is my uncle to me?

http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2010/05/dictionary-definitio
n-of-sipho.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
The really curious bit being that, sometimes, dictionaries stick in
"errors" deliberately.

Onager
A crossword favourite
But not known to this solver ...
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-world/2010/05/28/crossword-clue-help-internet
-search-sparks-porn-deluge-115875-22291013/

Dear English teachers:
Which is correct, "In the real world" or "In real world"?  I used 'in
the real world" in my writing, but my prof. changed it to "in real
world".  Both my professor and I do not specialize in English.  He is

I find it amusing when people say, "Not to change the subject, but..."
and then proceed to change the subject.  It's one of those self-
falsifying statements, like, "Needless to say..." (then why are you
saying it), or "I don't care what anybody thinks of me..." (then why

"With the government and mining companies at each other's throats, ..."
Before I say what I don't like, does anyone see a problem with this?
David, AuE

"Asymmetric" means "not symmetric".  I'm assuming it's just an oversight
that my dictionary doesn't have en entry for "dult".
Tom

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In today's (May 29th) New York Times, an unforgivable (and all too
common) error creeps into an otherwise interesting profile of the host
of a popular American public radio program on religion, Krista
Tippett. Describing Ms. Tippett's earlier career as a scholar and

Could there be a comma after "peeled?" Any difference in meaning?
--
[Terrible dream: someone skins himself]
With his right hand, he peeled the skin of his left arm, and with his

a little ditty of mine:
• Elements of Style in English
 http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/bangu/elements_of_style.html
plain text version follows.

From an online article today, "The St. Louis Cardinals seized on Chicago
Cubs starter Randy Wells with a blitz of quick runs in the first inning and
held on late for a 7-1 victory at Wrigley Field."
I really don't like the use of "seized on" there.

Both
"she made me lie on the bed"
and
"made me lie down on the bed"

Hello!  I would like to know the reason of inversion of sentence (a),
which I suppose comes from sentence (b).  I wonder if it is because
the subject noun phrase "an explanation of how the rich-poor gap has
come into being" is too long to come first as a subject phrase.  In

What are the various meanings of "gooshy?"
--
This thing inside me, this gooshy white thing like a lump, was taking
over, taking _me_ over, eating me up.